


The Lost Avatar

by Fouli



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Stranger Things - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Alternate Universe - Stranger Things Fusion, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:06:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24669613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fouli/pseuds/Fouli
Summary: All four nations are at peace, the avatar is missing.What will happen when strange masked individuals with unusual abilities start leaving symbols everywhere?What will the party do to stop this, and will the avatar return to save them all?
Kudos: 1





	1. The Raven

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So this is my first post ever! I apologize if I’m a bit sloppy as I’m not really used to this. 
> 
> Ps: stranger things and ATLA do not belong to me, I am just a super fan who’s obsessed with both shows!

The four nations were at peace. The fire nation, the water tribes, the air nomads and the earth kingdom lived harmoniously for the first time in what felt like ages. People started letting their guard down, they lived and loved like never before, and for a while, it seemed the world had finally calmed down, picked up the pieces from the past.  
Everything was so quiet, that even the most thoughtful sages were forgetting an important question, where was the avatar?  
It was indeed strange, some believed the avatar cycle had just stopped, maybe because all of the communities were peaceful, conflicts and wars ceased. There was simply no reason for an avatar anymore.  
But they couldn’t have been more wrong, for after a year of two of tranquility, unusual attacks spiraled out of nowhere. It started in Ba Sing Se. A group of masked individuals managed to break their way into the royal palace, despite it being one of the most heavily guarded places in the world. Even more intriguing then that, was the fact that there was no proof of a break-in, no wreck, no fingerprints, nothing. The only evidence of their existence was the words of witnesses. One man said he saw a group of cloaked men or women come out of a sort of- portal that appeared out of nowhere. Another one explained that one of the guards was turned into a baby right before his eyes. No one believed him until they had found an infant hidden inside a once grown man’s guard outfit. What was stranger was that whoever these intruders were did not steal anything. They did, however, leave a symbol of a raven engraved on the walls of the throne room. This caused the citizens to worry as ravens were commonly associated with disasters.  
After a couple of weeks, sightings were more common and had expanded over to the other nations.  
Irrational and delusional folks started speculating that it was all the fire nation’s doing, but these were foolish accusations made by prejudice foes. The firebenders were also being attacked, and the strange abilities this “cult” possessed could not be that of a bender. Or can it?  
The public started panicking once again, which was not great as the paranoia from the tensions of past struggles worsened the situation.  
People were feeling unsafe again, without the Avatar to protect them, even though the strange cloaked individuals barely caused any harm or destruction, save for the gravures.  
Riots begun and everyone was furious, so the leaders of all four nations devised a plan that they hoped would calm their citizens down, not least themselves.  
They would create schools, schools that would teach benders to reach their full potential.  
Institutions were already common before this idea, but each school taught one type of bending.  
They hoped that schools that taught all benders would strengthen relations between nations, which would strengthen them in battle, in case these outlaws do start something dangerous.

—————————————————

However, people couldn’t help but wonder what happened to the Avatar.


	2. The Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was supposed to be a regular night for Mike, Dustin, Lucas and Will. But all of that changes when Will spits something on his way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: Stranger things and ATLA do not belong to me! The characters and some plot ideas are taken directly from the show!

Mike, Dustin, Lucas and Will were together in Mike’s basement late at night. He was just in the middle of a game of Pai Sho versus Will when his mother shouted from upstairs:  
‘Mike! It’s past ten! You have to go to sleep!’  
‘NOT NOW MOM!’ The boy shouted back at his mom. But she didn’t answer. So he climbed the stairs and darted towards the kitchen. ‘Mom, I’m just in the middle of a match against Will! And I’m winning! Please, just give us ten more minutes!’  
‘Michael, i understand you know that your friends have school tomorrow, we don’t want to be the cause for them waking up late.’  
‘But mom-  
‘No buts, Mike. Now you can continue your game next weekend. Plus I don’t think leaving late would be a good idea as sightings of these- well the cloaked criminals are becoming more recurring around these areas. You’re lucky I let you visit your friends at all!’  
‘But mom, why do I have to sleep so early! I mean Lucas sleeps-  
‘Because you have school, Michael.’  
‘Yeah well school’s boring. I miss out on all the fun stuff that Will, Dustin and Lucas get to do because they’re benders!’  
‘Mike remember what I told you. Just because we’re not benders doesn’t make us any less special-  
‘Nancy can firebend! And you’re always complimenting her every time she does one of her annoying tricks!’  
‘Go down and tell your friends it’s time to go. End of discussion!’  
Knowing he had lost the argument, Mike stomped out of the kitchenette and back into his basement.  
‘Hey guys, mom said you have to leave.’ He said in a dull manner.  
‘Yeah, we heard you from here.’ Lucas answered.  
‘You’re pretty loud.’ Dustin added.  
‘We’ll continue next week, it’s not a big deal.’ Will told them calmly.  
Michael nodded and led them out from the garage. 

—————————————————

Will and Dustin just waved goodbye to Lucas, who was heading to the other street and towards his house.  
‘Hey, Dustin?’ Will asked shyly. The boy turned to look at him.  
‘Yeah?’  
‘You think Mike’s-you know- bothered that he can’t bend like us?’  
The boy shrugged in response.  
‘I mean, even if he is. It’s not our fault. He’s probably just bored, we’ll cheer him up next week.’ Dustin comforted him. Will nodded in relief. ‘Hey, wanna race?’  
‘What’s in it for me?’  
‘Anything you want.’ He answered.  
Will went quiet for a second, closed his eyes before splashing Dustin with water he bent from a nearby fountain. He then darted down the street.  
‘Hey! CHEATER! I DIDNT SAY GO!’ The now soaked boy shouted.  
‘I’ll take your star chart!’ He said as he darted away from his best friend.  
‘NO! The one from Wan Shi Tong’s library?! No it’s too rare!’ Dustin yelled back at him, but Will was too far ahead to hear him. ‘Shoot!’ 

Will slowed down a bit once his friend was out of sight. I mean, Dustin could’ve used earthbending to catch up with him! So why couldn’t Will use water bending? The air grew colder as he approached his side of the city. It was definitely not as pretty as Mike’s. The homes were smaller and he didn’t have a nice garden like Mike or Lucas. Moving from the South Pole to Ba Sing Se was part of the reason his mom couldn’t afford a better place. Half of the city was now filled with people from the other nations, because of the new schools that had opened. Lucas’ parents were originally from the fire nation, Mike’s mom, ms. Wheeler, too. Mr. Wheeler was from the northern water tribe.  
The young boy was so immersed in his thoughts that he didn’t even notice the strange silence that had engulfed the street. Usually this side of the Capital was busting with noise. Will shivered in the cold and rubbed his arms up and down to get rid of the goosebumps. His rising nervousness soon turned into fear when he heard a strange rustling from somewhere near him. The boy picked up the pace, now scampering. A loud thud made him freeze in surprise. It came from behind him. Will wanted to move but he felt frozen in place. Footsteps followed, slow, quiet footsteps that he wouldn’t have heard if it wasn’t for this deafening silence. The water bender finally regained his mobility, but before he could take flight, a hand clamped itself around his mouth, pinching his nose and blocking his breathing until he finally slipped into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see, I’m definitely taking some elements from the show (ST). Rest assured I’m not recreating stranger things in this story, but I’m definitely inspired.


	3. The Missing Waterbender

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party start getting worried when their friend doesn’t arrive at school. Joyce decides to pay a visit an old friend of hers, the chief police of Ba Sing Se, to help her find her son.

MICHAEL!’ Ms. Wheeler shouted from the dining room.   
Mike awoke, startled. What time was it? The sun shone brightly through the windows of his room, and he guessed it had to be at least 8. The kid got dressed in a hurry and stumbled down the stairs to breakfast.   
‘Guess who decided to show up late.’ Nancy said sarcastically, as he made his way to a chair next to her. The boy glared at his sister before answering:  
‘How was your day, yesterday, Nancy? Heard you hung out with a lot of your friends. One of them actually lives nearby! What’s his name again? Stan, Stafford, Steve?’   
The girl kicked his leg from under the table.   
‘Steve, who’s Steve?’ Karen asked strictly.  
‘Oh, he’s just a friend.’ She answered. The mother didn’t respond but Mike could’ve sworn she continued giving her small glances all throughout their meal. After they had finished their plates, the young boy jumped up, got his school bag and headed to Lucas’. They both fast walked up the street together, deep in conversation.  
‘I mean, come on, of all the guys in the world she picks Steve?’ Mike complained.   
‘It’s probably because of his popularity. I mean, there isn’t a single person in Ba Sing Se Academy that doesn’t know his name.’   
‘I don’t understand why. He’s a douche and he can’t even bend!’   
‘Neither can you!’ Lucas retorted.  
‘And do you see me at the top of the food chain?’ Mike answered.  
‘Yeah well none of us are.’ Lucas responded, proceeding to hide behind the stand of a cabbage seller the moment he spotted the two school bullies, Troy and James. These idiots were arrogant firebenders who liked to brag of their high status in the fire nation.  
‘Well that’s because you can’t even light a candle.’ Mike whispered back.  
Lucas gave him a nudge, which the non bender returned even more aggressively, causing the whole stand to topple over. The two bullies turned their way, and smiled mischievously when they spotted the two kids on the floor.   
‘Oh no, run, RUN!’ Lucas shouted. They got up the same time the cabbage merchant arrived.   
‘My cabbages!’ He yelled at them. But they were too busy fleeing to stop and apologize.  
‘Come here, Frogface! So I can burn you to a crisp!’ James yelled as he chased after them. Lucas barely dodged a fireball the tongue-tied bender shot straight at them.   
‘LETS HEAD TO YIN STREET! IT’L GET US TO SCHOOL FASTER!’ Mike shouted. His friend nodded and they turned left towards a small road.   
‘You can’t get away that easily, dweebs! I’ll get you guys before you can say fire nation!’ Troy threatened them.   
‘Hey, Troy! How about you stop using that big ugly mouth of yours and start using your head!’ Lucas insulted him. Mike rolled his eyes in disbelief.  
‘Great, trigger the mad bullies, real thoughtful.’ He told him. The boy shrugged before shooting a small spark at the mouth breathers’ direction.   
The two bullies laughed mockingly.   
‘What’re you trying to do? Light a match?’ James teased them, but it seemed he was too busy talking to realize he was heading straight for a wall. The rascal yelled in pain.   
‘One down, another one to go.’ Lucas said breathlessly.   
‘No need, we made it to school,’ Mike answered. There were too many teachers in the vicinity, so Troy had to give up on this wild chase before he got in trouble. Again.   
Mike and Lucas sighed in relief as they opened the fence to their school. they had arrived before classes begun.  
‘Hey! Guys!’ Came a familiar voice from behind them. It was Dustin. ‘What took you so long?’   
Lucas pointed at the firebenders, who were eying them with disgust.   
‘Hey, did Will arrive yet?’ Mike asked. The water bender was usually the first to arrive at school.   
‘Didn’t see him,’ Dustin answered. ‘He’s probably already inside, our first subject is natural philosophy, you know how eager he is to learn about the science of waterbending.’  
The echoing sounds of the school gong indicated that it was time to go to class.   
Dustin, Mike and Lucas picked up their paper bags, (which they had thrown on the ground the minute they entered school grounds) and headed into the building.   
However, as soon as the three boys entered their classroom, their cheerful attitude turned to one of concern as Will wasn’t sitting on one of the desks, immersed in a book, nor was he in the middle of a conversation with Mr. Clarke, their teacher.   
The kids exchanged nervous glances before proceeding to sit at the front row desks.  
‘Hey there, Dustin, Lucas, Mike.’ The Professor started. ‘What’s got you so dispirited?’   
‘Oh, nothing.’ Lucas answered.  
‘We’re just, drowsy.’ Dustin lied.  
‘Have you seen Will, by any chance?’ Mike added quickly.   
Mr Clarke shook his head before responding:  
‘I’m sorry, guys. Why, is he ok?’  
The nonbender nodded, he didn’t want to worry anybody else, I mean, come on? He’s just late. But the boy wasn’t totally convinced, Will never missed a day of school before.

Classes were over. Mike had finished before the rest of the party since he didn’t have bending classes to attend to. Non benders didn’t have that many combative classes like the benders did, so they usually finished before everyone. However that did not mean they were vulnerable, as many people were convinced to take martial arts as extracurricular activities. Mike wouldn’t have taken that class if it wasn’t for his overprotective mother’s influence. But hey, it wasn’t that bad, the boy actually felt more safe now that he knew some sort of defense. That day sensei Yuan was absent, for unknown reasons.   
Impatience got the best of him, and Mike decided to leave the institution instead of waiting for the rest of the party, like he normally would.   
Instead of heading straight to his house, the boy decided he would go check on the Byers home to make sure Will was OK.   
Walking through the streets, Mike wondered what It would be like to be able to bend. The kid couldn’t help but be jealous of his friends, they acted like being benders was no big deal! He was furious at how ungrateful they were to be born special. Even Mike’s sister was gifted! She could firebend! But Mike was born ordinary, which didn’t sit well for him, especially at school. That made him envy Steve, who was also born a nonbender, but was still king of Ba Sing Se Academy. Maybe there was hope for Michael? Maybe he could one day become king of his school like his sister’s boyfriend? But the boy was awoken from his reverie when he stumbled on a cabbage that was just laying there on the floor. He picked up the pace as he didn’t want to run into the man whom he and Lucas had ruined the stand for.   
Mike then took a route opposite the one he took to get to school, and made his way to his best friend’s house.   
The side of Ba Sing Se that The Byers lived in was definitely not as pretty as Mike’s, Dustin’s or Lucas’s, but the inside of Will’s home was cozier than the lot.   
He stood in front of the wooden door and gave it three loud knocks.   
‘Ms Byers? It’s me, Mike!’ He yelled from the other side.   
The door swung open to reveal the slightly pale face of Will’s mom, Joyce. She was incredibly kind, and Mike considered her his second mother. The woman’s nervous face turned to one of kindness.   
‘Hey sweetie,’ she told him nicely. Joyce hesitated for a second, but didn’t add anything after.  
‘Hiya, Ms Byers.’ The boy answered. ‘ I’m sorry if I came unexpectedly, I just wanted to make sure Will was OK?’   
Joyce’s face grew even more pale.   
‘Wait, he, he didn’t spend the night at your place?’ She asked. Mike shook his head, his stomach starting to feel queasy.   
‘What do you mean? He left at nine last night.’  
The mother’s face grew into one of fear. If Will wasn’t at Mike’s, or back home, then where was he?  
At that second, a tall scrawny boy walked up and stood beside Joyce. It was Jonathan, Will’s older brother.  
‘What’s going on?’ He asked, holding a pan in his hand.   
‘Jonathan. Did you not see Will come back last night? I figured you knew he was spending the night!’   
‘Wait, what? I-I thought he went to school early!’ The older brother asked, anxious.   
‘You told me you would be back home by seven.’ Joyce told him. Jonathan sank, red faced.   
‘I- I took Jin’s shift. He was sick and I thought we could use the money.’  
‘Jonathan, I told you not to take shifts while I’m working!’ She said.   
‘I’m sorry, mom.’ The boy answered. He too was getting exceedingly anxious.  
‘No, no,’ Joyce started. ‘It’s not your fault, Jonathan. If it’s anyone’s fault it’s mine.’   
‘What do we do?’ Mike came into the conversation.   
‘I’m heading to the police.’ The mother said quickly. Mike admired the fact that Joyce was trying to keep a straight face for their benefit. However, at that moment, the realization hit the young boy stronger than before. His friend might be missing. It was at that moment that he decided he would return home. The boy was overwhelmed, and needed a place to think. 

——————————————

Joyce was making her way through the streets. She was terrified. Will, her son, was missing! How could she let that happen! What if he’s in trouble! What if he’s crying for his mother to find him right now! Joyce might’ve been overreacting, but she did not care. Had she been there for him, maybe he wouldn’t be missing! The mother knew there was something wrong. She could feel it. Joyce didn’t know how to explain it, she just did. Will wouldn’t just disappear like that! It was unlike her boy.   
Immersed in her painful thoughts, The woman unwillingly bumped into a woman, who growled at her before continuing her way.   
After fifteen minutes of running, Joyce finally caught sight of the police department. She stormed in.   
‘Hey, Flo? Is the chief here? I need to talk to him.’   
‘Oh, hello, Joyce! Yes he is, he’s in his office but he’s busy right now. Why don’t you just wait here for a couple of minutes.’ The sweet old lady answered.   
But Joyce couldn’t wait five minutes.   
She walked towards the head police’s office, ignoring Flo’s many yells, and barged into the room.   
It was then she caught sight of him. He was busy reading a paper, a cigarette in his mouth.   
‘Joyce? What the hell are you doing?’ The chief asked. The badge pinned to his jacket shone in the light, his name was engraved onto the golden emblem: “Chief Jim Hopper”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know what you might be wondering, where’s the avatar! Where’s eleven! I’m just looking for the perfect moment for her to appear!

**Author's Note:**

> I know this is a really short chapter, and I didn’t mention anyone from stranger things, it’s just the introduction. I hope to introduce most of the main characters next chapter.


End file.
